The document outlines 8 common mistakes when pitching to investors. It discusses lack of preparation, failing to properly define the problem, having an undifferentiated product, an unclear business model, not understanding competition, weak go-to-market strategies, improper team composition, and lack of progress or proof of concept. For each mistake, it provides brief explanations and questions for the entrepreneur to consider to strengthen their pitch.

1. 8
MISTAKES
WHEN
PITCHING
INVESTORS
Jan
Coppens
19/04/12

2. Prepara/on
1
Status
8
2
Problem
defini/on
You
7
3
Product
differen/a/on
Go-­‐to-­‐market
6
4
Business
model
5
Compe//on

3. 1
PreparaKon
ss?
about
our
busine
What
do
you
know
Raising
Capital

4. Limited
Partner
€
Venture
Capital
firm
Limited
€
General
Partner
Partners
Management
fee
€
Limited
Partner
€
Fund
Fund
raising

5. Venture
Capital
€
Startup
firm
General
€
Startup
Partners
€
• Investment
strategy
Fund
€
Startup
• Deal-­‐flow
management
• PorPolio
management
Inves.ng

6. Limited
Partner
€
Venture
Capital
Startup
€
firm
Limited
General
Startup
Partner
Partners
€
€
Limited
Startup
Partner
Carried
Interest
Exit

7. 2
Problem
definiKon
I
don’t
fe
el
the
pa
in
• Tell
the
story
of
your
customer
• Show
current
solu/ons
do
not
cure
• Translate
opportunity
in
problem
• Proof
with
data

8. A
word
on
communica/on
An
important
client
or
market
need
“ addressed
by
a
unique
approach
with
compelling
benefits
when
compared
against
“
the
compe//on
or
alterna/ves

9. 3
Product
differenKaKon
Where
have
I
seen
this
before?
Low
barriers
to
entry
for
Web
startups
result
in
many
“me
too”
products
Ancient
technology
Lack
unique
knowhow?

10. 4
“
Business
model
single
most
common
quesKon
and
how
exactly
are
you
“
going
to
make
money?
User
pays
Someone
else
pays
34%
Don't
know
Business
model
52%
14%
n
=
56

11. Can
you
prove
what
you
claim?
Example
of
real-­‐life
startup
financials
(Belgium)
45
Revenu
40
EBITDA
35
30
Really?
25
20
15
10
5
0
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016

13. 5
CompeKKon
You
don’t
understand
your
market
Typical
compe//on
analysis
Other
YOU
Strong
startup
Google
Something
else
Apple
Missing
link
to
customer
priori/es
Someone
Radom
you
found
companies
on
Google
Weak
in
same
space
Weak
Strong
Something

14. 6
Go-­‐to-­‐market
How
will
you
reach
your
customers?
• What
is
your
compe//ve
B2C
advantage
to
reach
your
31%
customers?
Customer
type
• How
are
you
going
to
B2B
69%
make
this
repeatable
and
scalable?
n
=
54

15. 7
You

16. You
need
a
right
team
size,
…
“ Solo
founders
take
“
3.6x
longer
to
reach
scale
stage
Startup
Genome
report

17. …and
the
right
set
of
skills
• Technical
vs.
business
• Thinker
vs.
doer
• INTP
vs.
ESFJ
• Etc.
Commandos
1998

18. 8
Status
Does
it
exist
outside
of
your
head?

19. Thanks
Mail:
jan.coppens@ibbt.be
Twider:
@jgcoppens
Linkedin:
linkedin.com/in/jancoppens